The Secretary General has appointed Dr David Nabarro as Senior UN system Co-ordinator for Avian and Human Influenza.

Dr. Nabarro is one of the most senior public health experts in the World Health Organization (WHO), and the Secretary-General is grateful to the Director-General, Dr. Lee Jong-Wook for seconding him to the United Nations. He will be responsible for ensuring that the UN system makes an effective and coordinated contribution to the global effort to control the epidemic of avian influenza (or “bird flu”), which at present is particularly affecting countries in Asia. He will also ensure that the UN system supports effective local, national, regional and global preparations for a potential human influenza pandemic - so as to reduce the human toll, as well as the economic and social disruption, that this pandemic could cause.

The UN system's efforts on influenza will reflect the technical guidance provided through the UN's specialized agencies responsible for animal and human health (the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization). It will respond to the needs and interests of national governments and their peoples, and be undertaken in conjunction with the World Bank, other development banks, development agencies, non-governmental organizations, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movements, major private entities, the research and development community and all others with a stake in influenza-related issues.